Lauri Markkanen’s name has been thrown around in trade rumors of late, but if The Athletic’s Tony Jones is to be believed, the chances of him not being a member of the Utah Jazz next season seem slim.
As per Jones, the Jazz would want quite a large haul to part with Markkanen.
I think that part about Markkanen liking Utah is key here.
If you think back to Donovan Mitchell’s time with the Jazz, it was frequently reported that he was interested in ending up on teams like the New York Knicks and the Miami Heat.
It just felt like it was only a matter before Mitchell was gone and he ended up being traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
With Markkanen, there hasn’t really been a lot of buzz about him wanting to go somewhere.
Some teams were linked with him, with the thought being that perhaps the Jazz might just tear it all down and go for a complete rebuild this offseason, after finishing 12th in the Western Conference with a 31-51 record.
If that’s not the case, though, the organization has no reason to let a star who likes being in Utah go.
They can just steadily build around him in the coming years.
Could James potentially tempt Markkanen to want to come to LA? Maybe. It seems very likely at this point, that LeBron will be re-signing with the Lakers in the offseason.
The franchise is also expected to make some moves and someone like Markkanen would be a clear upgrade over the likes of Rui Hachimura and Jarred Vanderbilt.
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